1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of automotive cooling systems and, more particularly, to a corrosion guard comprising a fitting insertable into a cooling system hose and having a boss for a removable sacrificial anode.
2. Description of the Related Art
Metal parts in automotive cooling systems, such as radiators, heater cores, intake manifolds, timing chain covers and freeze plugs deteriorate due to corrosion created by the cooling fluids. The advancement of engine design using greater quantities of aluminum alloys for these components has exacerbated the corrosion issue. Galvanic corrosion is a significant contributor to the overall corrosion load experience by cooling system components of dissimilar metal alloys. Current corrosion protection techniques include the use of chemical additives and coolants in the cooling circulation loop.
Hot water heaters, compressor systems and certain heat exchanger systems employ sacrificial anode systems to reduce galvanic corrosion effects. Exemplary of this prior art is U.S. Pat. No. 6,770,117 to Keller, et al. issuing on Aug. 4, 2004 and entitled Cathodic Protection System for Air Compressor Tanks. Direct modification of existing automotive cooling systems to accommodate insertion of such sacrificial anodes into the components directly is not feasible due to the cost and complexity of such modifications.
It is therefore desirable to provide a corrosion guard which is easily retrofitted to existing automotive cooling systems without requiring excessive modification.
It is further desirable that corrosion guard employ removable sacrificial anodes to allow replacement as necessary.